Giants of Jazz
Art Posters and Lithographs by Waldemar Świerzy from the Daguillard Collection
533 Royal Street
Giants of Jazz: Art Posters and Lithographs by Waldemar Świerzy from the Daguillard Collection pays homage to African American titans of jazz and rhythm-and-blues, the 20th-century tradition of Polish poster art and the interplay of musical and visual art.
The display includes 17 larger-than-life works by Polish artist Waldemar Świerzy (1931–2013). Visitors will see renditions of King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ray Charles as well as three studies for a portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a self-portrait by Świerzy and a poster for the 1988 Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw, Poland.
HNOC acquired the posters, along with several other works by Świerzy, as part of a much larger and diverse acquisition from the prominent immunologist and collector Fritz Daguillard and his wife, Rita Daguillard.
Related Stories
How Brass Bands Became a New Orleans Tradition
Brass bands developed in the mid-19th century by playing popular music of the day, and each generation of musicians has continued, incorporating elements of funk, bebop, and hip-hop along the way.
From Congo Square to Europe—and Back
So much of New Orleans’s musical culture rests on its diversity of styles, practitioners, and influences.
Related Collection Highlights
William Russell Jazz Collection
HNOC’s largest collection related to New Orleans jazz was the life’s work of this prolific collector, producer, historian, and photographer.
Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra Papers
Photographs, diaries, and promotional materials documenting a father and son’s 80 combined years in the music business
The Fat Man / Detroit City Blues
Fats Domino’s first single, produced in New Orleans, is considered one of the first rock ’n’ roll songs in history.
Related Virtual Exhibitions
New Orleans Medley: Sounds of the City
The music of New Orleans is the living product of dynamic cultural interactions played out over centuries in this diverse southern port city.
Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Boswell Sisters of New Orleans
Explore the musical legacy of New Orleans’s own Boswell Sisters, who where among the first stars of radio’s golden age.
Related Books
Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans
by Ben Sandmel
with a foreword by Peter Guralnick
French Baroque Music of New Orleans
edited by Alfred E. Lemmon
with essays in English by Jennifer Gipson, Andrew Justice, Alfred E. Lemmon, and Mark McKnight, and in French by Jean Duron
Subscribe to Our Newsletter